This invention relates generally to a protective covering for a body lesion, and more particularly, to a protective covering for a lesion during bathing and showering by the wearer. Whereas there is a constant stream of new developments related to medical cures, disease detection and protection, magnetic resonance imaging, gene splicing, etc., some of the more prosaic and basic problems that have haunted medical practice through its annals, go unattended and without advancement to keep pace with other events.
When a person has a body lesion, whether that lesion is in the process of healing or that lesion is intended to be a permanent or semi-permanent part of the anatomy so as to substitute for a bodily function or to assist in medical treatments or procedures, a problem is created when the patient must be bathed by emersion in a tub or by taking a shower. Also, people having lesions may wish to exercise by swimming, whether for therapy or general conditioning. To this day, some of the finest, modem medical facilities in the world, when facing the problem of bathing or showering, offer a film of thin plastic, which is more commonly used in the kitchen to wrap leftover food, as a protective sheathing to be wrapped to cover a lesion in the hope that water will not reach the affected area.
A wound that is covered with padding and gauzes, perhaps containing medication, can be adversely affected by contact with water, scabs may dissolve and impede the process of healing, and the danger of infection is increased at the wound site. Another approach to protecting a lesion during bathing or showering, is to cover the lesion with a bandage that is taped around the edges and to completely cover the lesion. However, it is known that removing adhesive bandages from close proximity to a wound often aggravates the skin near the lesion causing sensitivity, swelling, hazards of infection, and loss of skin where the adhesive is removed. Thus, such bandaging techniques have disadvantage when bathing and have not been widely used in recent years.
A similar problem arises with regard to adhesive bandages when using these adhesives to hold pads, and the like, in place to provide protection for the lesion and also frequently to apply medication or provide drainage means.
For these reasons, treatment devices include a frame or base having a central opening. The base includes an adhesive surface and is positioned so that the opening surrounds the body lesion when the base is attached to the body surface (skin). Wound dressing materials are then placed over the lesion by passing them through the opening in the base. These dressing materials are attached to the base and may be removed and changed without the need for removing the base from the skin surface. Thus, the problem of wound and skin irritation that results from repetitive addition and removal of adhesive tape to the skin, is avoided.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,362, issued Apr. 21, 1992, to Gilman discloses a dressing for a wound including a vent which provides controlled leakage of fluid from the wound along a path through an opening in a base sheet or frame of the device, which is attached to the skin using an adhesive. In this device, the frame need not be removed each time the dressing is changed. The device is primarily intended to control the outflow of fluid oozing from a wound and prevention of bacterial infection of the wound is also a problem which is considered.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,026, issued Sep. 12, 1989, is a sealing/wound closure device which includes an annular ring that is attached to the skin with an adhesive. A closure device for drawing the edges of a wound together operates through the central opening of the ring or frame that is attached to the skin. A removable cover is placed over the closure device. This cover may be removed such that medications may be changed, etc. without disturbing the adhesive connection between the frame and skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,763, issued Feb. 11, 1992, to Hathman provides a protective recloseable wound dressing. The dressing is disposable and the device has a hinged flap arrangement whereby it is easy to gain access to the wound without disturbing a protective crust of blood and serum that forms over a wound. In addition, it is easy to apply medication without removing the bandage which is attached by adhesive to the skin surrounding the wound. Ready access to the lesion is provided through the hinged opening mechanism. The device may be repeatedly opened for inspection or for application of medication and thereafter be reclosed, without losing the integrity of the seal on the body or on the hinged flap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,243, issued Mar. 20, 1990, is for a wound dressing system that also includes a frame with a central opening that is permanently attached to the skin. A pad of a desired wound dressing material is placed over the frame with the dressing material opposite the wound. The pad is held to the frame by an adhesive having less holding power than the adhesive which keeps the frame on the skin. A patent to Spangler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,816, issued Aug. 23, 1983, is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,243. In Spangler, the pad is placed in the central opening of a frame and is covered by a hinged cover that is permanently attached at one edge to the frame. Thus, the cover can be raised and lowered so that there is access to the wound and any padding that is placed thereon.
Each of the patents addresses the problems that arise from frequent removal of adhesive material from the skin in the immediate vicinity of a wound. However, none of the patents addresses the problem of bathing or showering or discloses a covering for the wound that not only protects the wound during such activity but avoids the aforementioned irritation associated with frequent removal of adhesive bandages, and the like, from the wound vicinity.
What is needed, is a protective covering for body lesions that is simple to use and effective in preventing contamination of a wound or lesion, and its dressing or medication, by exposure to water during bathing, showering, therapeutic baths, exercise, and the like.